What should have happened
by Akirafanatic
Summary: Shinichi calls his parents for help after he is shrunk. No pairings
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so there's a few things I need to explain before you read this.**

 **First of all, while it won't be obvious or relevant right now, Shinichi spent his time in middle school traveling with his parents. What I mean is that he was in Japan through elementary school, went traveling for middle school, and returned at the start of high school while his parents continued traveling. This will show up later on, and while it won't be a big point to the story, I figured I get it out of the way now rather than explain it later.**

 **Second, this only _loosely_ follows the first and part of the second manga chapters. After that, it's all original. You'll see quite a few differences as you read. So please don't expect it to be exactly the same.**

 **I had a third point but I can't remember it right now.**

 **It should be obvious by now that I do not own Detective Conan.**

 **OH! Right. And Shinichi will not go by Edogawa Conan in this. Getting it out there now so if it bothers you or you don't like it, then you can back out of reading it right now.**

 **I think that's it for now. The first few chapters are mainly going to be setup and showing how the story is changing.**

 **One _more_ thing. This will probably not go how you expect it to go from reading this. I did not start this story with the intention of rewriting the entirety of Detective Conan. I had one main point in writing this and that will be revealed later on. I highly doubt anyone will guess what that point will be. Some may not like it, but those who don't can stop reading any time they wish.**

 **I think that's it, so I hope you all enjoy this story!**

* * *

Shinichi fucked up. The second he noticed only _one_ of the men he'd seen earlier should have tipped him off. When he felt that blow to the back of his head, he knew he'd made a mistake. A deadly one. He only hoped that Ran would forgive him for leaving her like that. Damn it! He hadn't even been able to tell her how he felt! He should have let the police know. He should have stayed with Ran – please, _please_ , don't let them go after her for his stupid mistake – should have done _anything_ differently.

Now he was going to die here. Alone.

Shinichi _really_ fucked up. If he somehow survived this, he'd start getting backup before chasing after shady looking men going down dark alleys at night.

What did it say about his life that he had never done so before? Had he _really_ been that egotistical? To think that everything would always work out because it had before? Because by some miracle he hadn't been in this dangerous a situation before?

Almost as though through a fog he heard voices. They were muffled, and he wasn't able to make anything out. It was probably the men he'd followed. He was powerless as fingers roughly grabbed his hair and dragged his head and upper body upright, something being forced down his throat before liquid was poured into his mouth and he reflexively swallowed what was more than likely poison.

His head hit the ground again and he watched the blurry outlines of his attackers moving away. They were leaving him to die. This really was the end.

A searing pain ripped through his body, and Shinichi felt as though he'd been set on fire. He couldn't even scream as the pain became worse. _'Ran,'_ He thought as his vision dimmed, before finally giving way to the darkness.

* * *

Shinichi slowly came to at the sounds of people yelling. Slowly opening his eyes, the blurry shapes gradually cleared to reveal officers in front of him. The first thing he thought was how glad he was to be alive. The second was whether Ran was alright or not. The third was that he should tell these officers what he'd overheard so they could arrest those men.

"Are you alright little boy? Can you stand?" Shinichi blinked in confusion as he sat up. Surely they couldn't be talking to him – he was a _teenager_ , not a little boy. "How did you hurt your head?" Reaching for his head automatically, the pain came back as his hand landed on the spot he'd been hit. Hissing slightly, he pulled back to check for blood and stared at the sleeve that was hanging far over his hand. Glancing down his eyes widened at the sight of the much too long pant legs.

He was in shock as the officer picked him up and told him everything was alright and he didn't need to be scared anymore. Another officer was calling it in, mentioning how they'd found a young boy, between the ages of five and seven – possibly a grade school student. _'G-Grade school?!'_

He continued trying to process what was happening as the officer carried him back to their station. He wasn't sure what was happening anymore. He knew he wasn't really tall, being around average height, but even so nobody should mistake him for a grade school student! And that officer had picked him up like it was _nothing_! Something was wrong, and Shinichi needed to calm down and figure out what.

The pounding in his skull from that hit wasn't helping any. Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, Shinichi thought back to what had happened. He'd followed the shady man in black and saw him blackmail someone else. He'd been hit from behind with something hard. He was willing to bet it was a pipe or bat. They'd fed him something…poison probably, and his body had felt like it was on fire. Almost like his bones were melting before he'd blacked out.

And then the police had found him and now were calling him a grade school student.

He was missing something. Something important.

Shinichi frowned. He was getting nowhere. Opening his eyes, he waited as patiently as he could while some doctors checked him over and patched his head wound. It still hurt like hell, but at least now he hopefully wouldn't get an infection.

Looking around the station he paused when he got to a mirror. It was at the wrong angle to look at, but maybe something about that supposed poison had done something to his appearance to make the officers believe he was a child. Hadn't they said something about it not being tested on humans yet? Maybe it worked differently on humans?

Shinichi paled slightly. What if they were watching him to make sure it killed him? If he was their first test subject, wouldn't it make sense to stay and make _sure_ he was dead? It made sense, but surely they would have left before the police got there. He doubted they would risk being caught. They could always look at the news to see if there was word of his death. He frowned again, he wasn't dead. The poison hadn't worked, so what would happen once they realized he was still alive? Would they come after him?

They way they'd handled everything had shown it wasn't their first time doing this. At least that was true for the long-haired guy. He'd stayed back to make sure everything went to plan and nobody interrupted. He'd called the shots, probably been the one to give him the poison as well. Was he the one in charge? He'd…he'd said something about an organization. Which meant there were probably more people, but Shinichi had no way of knowing how big it was or how many people were involved. Was it like a gang? Bigger? He'd never even heard rumors of an organization of people wearing black at headquarters. Did that mean they were relatively new?

No, with that much money involved and how practiced that man was, he doubted this was anywhere near his first crime. Which meant it probably wasn't a new organization. That thought left chills going down his spine. If they weren't new, and there weren't even _rumors_ about them, that probably meant there was never anyone left to spread the rumors. Or worse, they had people working for them inside the police to keep information about them buried or destroy it.

Shinichi didn't know what to think. He could be overthinking it. Maybe that hit had done more damage than he'd realized and he was dreaming. Or that poison wasn't really a poison and he was hallucinating. Swallowing thickly, he shook his head and almost jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

The officer from earlier was smiling kindly down at him. "It's alright if you don't remember, it must have been really scary." Shinichi hadn't realized they'd been talking to him. "Do you want something to drink?" Nodding, he waited for the officer to leave before slowly sliding off the stool – _why_ was it so tall – and making his way over to the mirror. Hopefully some of his questions would be answered.

Pausing just out of sight, he took a deep breath and stepped in front of the mirror, eyes widening when he saw his reflection. Reaching one trembling hand up, he felt his stomach drop and twist as his reflection did the same.

Staring back at him was Kudo Shinichi, high school detective, but Kudo Shinichi, back as he was when he was in grade school. He was in _way_ over his head. For once, the great high school detective Kudo Shinichi, said to be the next Holmes _,_ who always manages to solve the case and find the truth, didn't know what to do. He needed help. And there was only one detective, one _person_ , he could think of to help him.

He needed to find a phone.

* * *

Shinichi panted as he double and triple checked around him. He refused to be caught off guard like he'd been earlier tonight, and those officers hadn't seemed like they'd stop searching until they found him. Only once he was _sure_ the coast was clear did he run for the gates to his manor. It was a risk, coming here, but there was nowhere else to go at the moment. He needed to get into dry clothes before he caught a cold, and calling from the manor's phone would make his story more credible.

Reaching the iron gates, he cursed his tiny child body as he stared up at the lock far above his head. Hefting himself up to the bottom rung, he stretched as far as he could, the lock just out of his reach. Jumping back down, he bit the inside of his cheek, a habit when he was nervous, and thought over his options.

He could go find a payphone, but then he'd be out in the open and the police or those men in black from before could find him. He could continue trying to reach the lock, but if he slipped and fell he could make his head injury worse. He could get someone to open it for him, but it was more likely they wouldn't believe him or would call the police again. Looking around, he froze when an explosion happened nearby. Head swiveling towards the source, he blinked and grinned at his first stroke of luck that night.

Running over to the aging professor he was neighbors with, Shinichi called out to him. "Professor Agasa!"

Standing up, the elder male blinked down at him. "Who are you?"

"It's me! Shinichi!"

"Oh, are you a relative of Shinichi's? You look _just_ like him when he was your age."

"No! Professor, please, you have to believe me! I'm Kudo Shinichi! Second year at Teitan High School!"

"Now, now, Shinichi isn't at home right now. Do you want to go in and wait for him?"

Shinichi bit his tongue to keep himself from arguing that he _was_ Shinichi. Professor Agasa was getting older, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself if those men from earlier went after him. Maybe it would be better if he let the professor believe he was a relative. He could always explain the situation later, and the professor was offering to let him inside. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yes please."

The shrunken teenager felt himself finally relax when the door to his manor shut behind him. The professor led him to the library and told him to wait there while he went to find something dry for him to wear. Shinichi waited until he was out of sight before climbing onto the desk chair and grabbing the phone.

Dialing the number he'd been forced to memorize, he gripped the phone tightly and prayed that the other person would pick up.

Only when he heard the older voice on the other end did he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Tou-san? I…I need your help."

* * *

 **So there's the first chapter. Shinichi does the _smart_ thing and calls his parents for help. Don't forget to let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I had an entire chapter written, then scrapped it and wrote this instead. I think it's a lot better than it was. There's a huge A/N at the end with some notes about this chapter and hopefully answers any questions you have while reading.**

* * *

"No." Shinichi didn't let his gaze waver from his parents. He was serious and wasn't about to surrender on this point.

"But Shin-chan," He could read the worry in his mother's eyes, "You'd be much safer with us overseas."

"I have friends in Interpol who can track down this organization and then reverse engineer the drug you were given so you can return to normal." The shrunken teen waited for his father to continue, knowing there was more. "This organization thinks you're dead Shinichi. To make sure they don't come after you or us or your friends we're going to have to make it seem like you really did die. You're well known here and even overseas with all the cases you've been a part of. The second we get your death certificate everyone will know. There's no reason for you to stay here."

"This is my case." He held up a hand when he saw his mother open her mouth and his father frown. " _I_ was the one who ran off after those two. _I_ was the one who got too cocky. _I_ was the one who didn't think about the consequences. I made the mistake, so I'm going to fix it – by myself if I have to."

The silence was deafening. "They could actually kill you this time."

"I know. But if I run off overseas and pretend none of this is happening, I'll never be able to face Ran again. Not after what news of my 'death' is going to do to her."

His mother moved over to the couch behind him and patted the spot next to her. Shinichi silently climbed up next to her and didn't protest the hug. "You really care about Ran-chan."

The small detective let his head rest against her stomach. "More than anything. I almost confessed to her at Tropical Land, but she made a joke about it and I was too embarrassed. Then there was the murder on the ride, and she was scared and upset. I should have stayed with her." His mother ran her fingers through his hair, keeping silent.

They remained there for a few moments, each lost in their thoughts, before the female Kudo softly voiced, "She could move on while you're searching." He didn't respond. A small part of him hoped she would – she was already so worried about his disappearance and lack of contact from the previous night; he didn't want to bring her more pain when he knew his 'death' would hurt her. It hurt, because the karate practitioner was the one he wanted to spend his life with more than anything. He'd been in love with his best friend for years, but had never worked up the courage to tell her. And now he may have lost his chance forever, because he'd picked a case over her.

Shinichi would have to live with that decision for the rest of his life, because there was nothing he could do to change it. He would never be able to make it up to Ran – leaving her that night and then letting her believe he'd died for however long his search took him – but he'd be damned if he didn't do everything he could to try. The faster he found the organization and brought them down, the sooner he could start. If she still hadn't found anyone when he got back, Shinichi swore the first thing he would do would be to tell her how he feels – even if she winds up rejecting him for putting her through this.

"Shin-chan?"

"I don't care. I'm not leaving Japan."

"What about Beika?" The blue-eyed male turned to his father. He wanted so badly to say no – that he was going to stay here – but he knew he couldn't. "You can stay in Japan if it's what you really want, but you'll have to leave Beika." He'd have to leave Ran. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. He'd do whatever it took to find the people who did this to him. "Your mother and I will have to remain here for a while after the news of your 'death' to help it seem more genuine, however a child without guardians will always turn heads so you'll have to be near enough that your mother or I can meet you when needed but far enough that those who knew you at this age won't easily run across you and make a connection."

His mother squeezed his arm reassuringly and added, "We can dye your hair a lighter shade and you can wear colored contacts to keep people from instantly recognizing you. You and I can work on changing your voice and the way you speak as well. Who knows, maybe if we practice enough you could even sing without breaking glass anymore." He scowled – it was _not_ a pout – at her teasing. It worked in breaking the tension that had been building in the room, and his father came over to sit next to them.

"We can work out all the details tomorrow, but it's getting late. Go take a bath and brush your teeth. I'm going to call Inspector Megure. When he gets here, go hide under our bed." Shinichi raised an eyebrow in question. Megure handed homicides, not missing persons cases. "We need someone we trust inside the police. We need to make sure nobody looks too closely at your 'body'. I won't tell him everything, but his help will be necessary to pull this off." Nodding his understating, the teenager-turned-child slid off the couch and made his way towards the stairs while his father pulled out his cellphone.

* * *

When Hattori Heiji heard the news of Kudo Shinichi's death, he vehemently denied the possibility it was true. There was no way someone Heiji saw as a rival and was lauded as the best of the best could have died so young. As much as Heiji saw Kudo as a rival to surpass, he knew the other teen was ahead of him. He'd been reading about how Kudo Shinichi – the modern-day Holmes – had been solving cases around the world as he traveled with his parents since before Heiji had even been allowed _near_ a crime scene. His father supported his drive to become a detective, but he had made it a strict rule that his son not be allowed near a crime scene until his last year of middle school – and at first it had been not until he was in high school. So that had left him finding lost pets and wallets and other small, miscellaneous cases from his classmates and neighbors until his third year.

If Heiji were honest, he admired the blue-eyed teenager. Kudo was smart, athletic, good looking, and a damn good detective. He had the trust of the entire police force and everyone knew his name. He wasn't the son famous actress Fujimine Yukiko and famous writer Kudo Yuusaku. He was the famous teenage detective, Kudo Shinichi. The Osakan detective kept every newspaper clipping of the cases his rival had solved as motivation to work harder and get better. He had a picture of the other teen on his wall to make sure he didn't slack off and so he'd never forget the face of the person he swore to beat.

He knew everything about the older male, and for him to just be gone like that…Heiji refused to accept it. He didn't care how long it took, but he'd get to the bottom of this. As his rival always said, there's only one truth.

* * *

Hakuba Saguru was in London when he got word high school detective Kudo Shinichi had been killed. He would freely admit that he was a bit of a fan of the older male's – not only did they both love Sherlock Holmes, but Kudo was the closest to a modern-day version of Holmes than anyone else the blond knew. He'd never met the blue-eyed male, but he'd followed his career as a detective after chancing upon an article about a first-year middle school student solving a case in America while he was reading about Kudo Yuusaku's newest book. While not up to par with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Saguru did enjoy his mysteries.

It was upsetting, seeing someone he'd admired as a detective had been killed at such a young age. He hoped the police were able to find his killer – letting whoever had done it go free would be an insult to a brilliant detective. Saguru himself, while fully capable of solving murder cases, preferred theft cases instead. There was only so much death he could take before it started to weigh on him. He'd ask his father to keep him updated on the case while he was in London, and the moment he returned he'd do what he could to help find the murderer should they still be on the loose. It was the least he could do for someone he'd hoped would one day become a friend.

* * *

Kuroba Kaito had been over at Aoko's house for dinner when the news reported on the death of Kudo Shinichi. He'd gone into a state of shock and it had taken his childhood friend and crush over half an hour to snap him out of it. After he'd assured her that he was fine and gotten back to his own house, he'd quickly thrown on a dark outfit and rushed over to Beika to find out if the news was true. He didn't want to test his luck at the police station when he wasn't in a full disguise and was still rattled from the news, so he'd decided to go to the next best place – The Kudo Manor.

The magician had had to sneak around all the reporters trying to get a comment from the parents, who'd arrived the day before when they got word their son was missing , before slipping into the backyard and shimmying up the large tree to peer into the large library – the most likely place to find any of the Kudo's aside from their bedrooms.

He felt his heart break at the sight of the beautiful Kudo Yukiko sobbing into her husband's chest as the male held her tightly with his head bowed. There was a picture of their son – one Kaito may or may not have seen on the desk of the library a few months ago – clutched almost desperately to the woman's chest. The magician fell back against the trunk, staring blankly ahead.

Kudo Shinichi was dead. Someone had killed him.

While he may not have ever met the other teen, he'd seen his look-a-like plenty of times on television and in the newspaper. Kaito normally didn't care about detectives, however after nearly being caught as KID when he'd done the clock tower heist, he'd made careful note of this one. It had been equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. It had taken a while to get the name from Nakamori, but once he had it he'd looked up everything he could to be more prepared should they face off again.

And then he'd found an interview from back in his third year of middle school, where Kudo Shinichi had admitted to being a fan of Kaito KID. The young detective had explained that he ran into so many murders a day that someone like KID, who put on more of a show than anything and always returned what he stole, was a welcome relief. He'd also stated he enjoyed trying to figure out how the tricks were performed. He had said he'd put KID behind bars if he ever caught him, but he was more concerned about murderers going away than someone who never hurt anyone and brought a lot of joy to people.

To Kaito, that meant he was fan. The more he learned about the detective, the more the magician liked what he found. Kudo Shinichi, while a little awkward at times, was genuinely kind and loved animals – even going as far as to house pets of victims and/or murderers until homes could be found when local shelters were full and there was nowhere else for them to go. He'd told a reporter than animals were never at fault for what their owners did, and it wouldn't be right to punish them for it.

The indigo-eyed teen had even found numerous articles where the detective had put himself in harm's way to save others – even murderers. When asked why, he'd explained that letting someone kill themselves was the same as murdering them. It didn't matter if they were an innocent civilian or a murderer themselves. Kaito had saved every one of the interviews he could find. He didn't like detectives, but he figured he could make an exception for Kudo Shinichi.

But now, Kudo Shinichi was dead. The detective that had come the closest to catching him, the teen who'd challenged KID and almost won, would never face off with the thief again. No heist had even been as exciting, challenging, or enjoying as that one, and no none ever would be. He would never forgive whoever killed his detective. Kaito may be a magician, but he was more than capable of following a few clues. He'd find this killer, and he'd show him why nobody, _nobody_ , messed with Kaito KID's detectives.

* * *

Ran wondered how she had any tears left. It felt like she'd been crying for days. Her best friend, the one she had loved since she was little, was gone forever. Just like that, with a smile and a backwards wave, he was never coming back.

When she'd heard the news, the karate practitioner had collapsed. She'd had a horrible feeling as she'd watched her detective geek run off, but hadn't stopped him. If she'd called to him, grabbed his arm, _something_ , then maybe…maybe he'd still be here. Still be spouting out about Holmes this and Holmes that while casually juggling a soccer ball as they walked. Still be going on and on about cases and mysteries, and grinning that boyish grin as he did. Still get the shine in his eyes as he was confronted with a particularly difficult problem.

Still be there to offer his own awkward comfort as she cried and he for once didn't know what to do.

If she hadn't been insistent on him taking her to Tropical Land as promised, Shinichi never would have run off to chase another mystery. He never would have been killed. She should have stopped him. She should have followed him. She shouldn't have been so adamant about him keeping his promise. She should have picked another day. She should have asked they leave as soon as the case was over. She should have done something.

Kudo Shinichi was dead, and Ran felt like it was her fault.

* * *

 **A couple of things about this chapter**

 **1) Shinichi is a mama's boy and nobody can convince me otherwise**

 **2) You got a glimpse into one of the reasons I started this story. To make Heiji, Hakuba, and Kaito fanboy's of Shinichi's. It was an idea that had come up during a conversation with my friend dont-touch-my-sons on Tumblr and now I finally wrote it. I have another reason for it, but it's less a reason and more a scene that wouldn't leave my head and worked well with the idea of fanboy's. Heiji is a big fanboy, but mistakes it as rivalry. Kaito is kinda the same as this, only in a different sense of _rivalry_ than Heiji. Hakuba admits to being a fan, but confuses how much of one he is. He thinks of how big a fan he is of Holmes and compares it to that and since it's not nearly as much, he decides he's only a small fan.**

 **3) Ran isn't at fault (obviously) but her initial reaction to the news is that it's her fault. I don't know if I'll put it in here, but she does gradually get over this and realizes it's not her fault and there was nothing she could have done.**

 **4) Kaito has been to Shinichi's house before, but while he's looked in on what rooms he could, he never invaded Shinichi's or anyone else's privacy. Meaning he never actually entered and he never watched if they were changing or anything. He was just trying to "gather information for if Shinichi went after KID" which is how he knew about the picture being on the desk beforehand. And when referencing "his detectives" it's more of the confusing his being a fan of Shinichi's with the rivalry thing, so since Shinichi went against him that one time, he's now part of "KID's detectives"**

 **5) While they are fanboys, they are not in love with him. I don't think I'll write any pairings in this, but if you want to read it as such, go for it. Just don't expect me to add it to the story.**

 **6) Yukiko was crying because eventually they'll ask the reporters to go away and it's more realistic if her eyes are puffy and red from actually crying than makeup and fake tears. Plus they're being extra careful just in case someone is watching (they weren't expecting Kaito but you can infer for yourselves if they knew he was there or not). She's probably also crying for the pain Ran is going through with this and all the pain her son feels for putting her through this.**

 **7) I like to think Shinichi is honest with his parents when it's serious, which is why he's confessing to them about all this.**

 **8) I know Kaito probably started being KID in high school, but in here he started at the end of middle school. Add to that Heiji had probably been solving cases since middle school, but I feel like even if his father supported his wanting to be a detective, he wouldn't want his son to be around corpses or see all the things he did until he was older.**

 **I think that's it, but let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter. We're getting closer to the main portion, so this is the end of the setup chapters. A/N at the end**

 **Also, for anyone who doesn't know - Haibara Ai's real name is Miyano Shiho. I will be calling her Miyano when I refer to her.**

* * *

Shinichi scowled as he tugged on the end of his hair. He'd always been meticulous about his appearance – keeping his hair in order, washing his face twice a day and moisturizing, keeping his eyebrows shaped, and making sure his nails were all the same length and never got too long. Most people might assume it was his natural look and he didn't bother with more than a quick brush through his hair in the morning, but the blue-eyed teen knew the importance of presentation thanks to his mother and preferred to look his best when he was continuously hounded by reporters trying to get a picture or interview with him or his parents.

So having to grow his hair out and let it do what it wanted rather than gelling it down to stay nice and neat was beginning to get onto his _last_ nerve. The fringe was hanging just above his eyes and the back was starting to brush his neck in a way that made it itch. His mother had helped him dye it a dark brown last night – she'd wanted to do a lighter brown at first, but the darker would more easily hide his black hair when his roots grew out – and Shinichi thought he looked ridiculous. His mother thought he looked cute.

The female Kudo had also put him on a diet high in tomatoes. Apparently she'd found a website that said eating a lot of tomatoes would naturally tan his skin. He didn't think it was working and was starting to get sick of them. If his skin really was getting a little darker, he was willing to bet it was from that lotion she'd bought for him to use instead that was specifically made for that purpose.

When he put in the hazel colored contacts to finish the look, Shinichi almost didn't recognize himself. The changes were small, but enough so those who'd known Kudo Shinichi – both as a teenager and when he'd actually been this age – wouldn't recognize him without knowing it was him.

Another change was the clothing he wore. When he'd been this age originally, he'd almost always worn either a miniature suit or shorts and a plain t-shirt so he could practice soccer. Now, his mother had finally taken command of his closet. While she couldn't get him any of the high-end fashion she wanted to – it would stand out and the family they were going to portray wouldn't be able to afford so many of them, let alone for a child who would outgrow them soon – she had compensated by putting together a wardrobe that was affordable and still fashionable with a few articles of formal clothing should he need them.

The last piece of the puzzle on Shinichi's new identity had been lessons with his mother on how to speak so he sounded like a child – an intelligent child, but still a child – and not like the teenager he was. She had wanted him to learn to change his voice well enough to use that as well, but thankfully his father brought up that nobody would remember what his voice sounded like when he was younger, and even then there were people out there who sounded the same or similar enough that it wouldn't be a huge deal if he sounded like Shinichi.

They'd been practicing every day for the past two months while his father finishing putting everything together regarding their new identities and making sure nothing – not even the smallest detail – was overlooked. In that time, Shinichi hadn't been outside once. He'd utilized the hidden passages his parents still hadn't explained to get around the house without being seen and to hide from visitors.

It was during the first month of this that he'd had to listen to Ran's breakdown as she blamed herself for his 'death' and apologized to his parents for letting their son run off that night. It had crushed him, knowing she was doing this to herself. He wanted nothing more than to let her know it wasn't her fault. It had killed him to sit there and listen, unable to do anything as she cried. He would never be able to forgive himself for that, even if by some miracle she did. Her sobs were more painful than the drug he'd been given – more painful than anything he'd ever been through before.

Part of him wished he really had died that day.

* * *

"Class," Shinichi tried not to grimace at the tone – it wasn't the teachers fault, it was unfortunately the way most people spoke to children – as the woman began the introductions. "I want you all to meet some new friends! This is Sasaki Yuta-kun and Sasaki Ai-chan. They're going to be your classmates starting today, so I want you all to get along, alright?" A chorus of agreements ran through the children.

When Miyano Shiho had first appeared, the shrunken detective had been wary. This woman – although her appearance was now that of a child's – had been the one to make the drug that had put him in this situation. She was part of the organization. She had created a poison that was being used to kill who knew how many others.

But he wasn't an idiot. He could see how terrified she was of them. Every time they were mentioned she would be overcome with fear to the point she couldn't move. The mere _thought_ of them finding her was enough to send her to her shaking knees. Yet even so she agreed to help them. She told them everything she knew about the organization and the drug. Gave all the information she had to his father who sent it to some of his connections to analyze and hopefully find a solution. Without giving them too many details, he'd set Miyano up to be in contact with those connections so she could contribute as a way to thank them for hiding her.

His mother had been overjoyed to have another female in the house. She had whisked the girl away to dye and restyle her hair as well as darkening the skin slightly to better fit the image of their cover family before starting in on speech training. In all honesty, Shinichi felt a little bad for her. His mother could be a little overbearing at times. Especially when you weren't used to her.

After Miyano had been deemed ready to reenter society – and his father had finished her papers as well – the two shrunken teenagers had moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Ekoda. Close enough for his parents to come should they be needed, but far enough that they shouldn't run into anybody they knew in Beika. His parents had made the decision to stay at the manor for a few more months until Kudo Shinichi's death was mostly forgotten by the public and their leaving again wouldn't seem odd. After that they would put on their disguises and join the two in Ekoda.

The two teenagers-turned-children smiled at the class and headed to the empty seats – Miyano on the left side of the room and Shinichi in the center. He pulled out the workbook he'd been given and mentally sighed. While he could play the intelligent child, he had to be careful about letting on how smart he really was. He didn't want to draw attention to himself by solving high school level problems as a grade school student.

"I have one more special announcement before we start class today." He glanced over at Miyano who shook her head before returning his attention to the teacher. "Every year the first-grade classes of Ekoda elementary school pair up with the second years at Ekoda high school for a term long project over a famous landmark. You and your partner will pick a landmark in Japan and research it together. Each of you will write a paper about it and together you'll build a model of it and then present about it to everyone else. Now because you're going to have all of this term to research it, your paper should be three pages long. You can have your partner help you, but they won't write it for you."

Shinichi bit back a scowl. He doubted they'd do much of the work in class, which meant he'd be spending precious time outside of class doing this project when he could be searching for the organization. Why would they pair up a first-grade class with a high school class in the first place? Wouldn't a higher grade – like fifth or sixth – be more beneficial? And why a second-year high school class? Why not a first-year class?

"We'll be going over to the high school tomorrow after lunch to meet with your new partners. We were going to go today, but with Yuta-kun and Ai-chan transferring in we changed it to tomorrow so they could have a chance to get to know everybody and so Konno-sensei and I could rearrange the pairings to make sure everyone has a partner." _'Sorry to ruin your plans.'_ "After you meet your partners we'll get together once a month so you can show us your progress and ask any questions if you need help. Other than that you'll need to meet up outside of class and use that time to work together."

Sometimes, the detective hated being right. He just hoped his partner wasn't a complete idiot, or he'd waste more time than necessary on this project.

* * *

 **My notes about this chapter**

 **1) Shinichi's hair (to me at least) seems to fluctuate between black and a really dark brown, but I see it as black. I'm sorry if it bothers anyone, but I'm sticking with black as his natural hair color.**

 **2) You can't tell me that people as rich and eccentric as Kudo Yukio and Kudo Yuusaku _wouldn't_ build in secret passageways in their house.**

 **3) There is _no fucking way_ Shinichi just wakes up looking like that. The boy puts at least _some_ time into his appearance.**

 **4) Professor Agasa doesn't know all the details of what happened but does know the basics (Shinichi is alive but involved in a dangerous case)**

 **5) I had no idea how to add Miyano to the story, so I just had her randomly show up (she won't be a major part of the story and neither will the rest of the class, so don't be surprised when you don't see her much later on).**

 **6) I made Shinichi ask all the questions about the project I had myself when I thought of it. In the end I decided I didn't really care about how realistic it is.**

 **That's basically it. Not much happens in this chapter. Can anyone guess _who_ Shinichi is getting for a partner? What about Miyano?**

 **Don't forget to let me know what you thought!**

 **OH! And I searched 'Shaggy male hairstyles' on Google if you're curious as to what I made Shinichi's hair look like.**


End file.
